Tiny. That's one way to wrap up everything real quick with the GameCube. From the box to the controller...to the system itself. It's very small.

Upon opening the box (so so so carefully) first you see the manuals. Those obviously get tossed aside. Everything is packed in very tight. Once I removed the GameCube, I did the first thing I think a lot of people would do. Grab it by the handle! At first people laughed at this addition to the console, but I think it's great. Also something to point out is the new ATI logo that was added to the lower right hand corner of the system. No big deal, but I hadn't seen it before.

When I went down the elevator to bring the system to the common area, it took only one trip to carry down the system, the AV cable, power source, two controllers, and 3 games. The handle made it easier.

Hooking up was a snap using my N64 AV cable. I mean, I've had enough experience hooking game systems up to almost everything, I probably could have wired this into a freakin' blender. We have a basic TV, so I'll wait until I get home for surround impressions. Man, I can't wait.

I pressed the open button, and the cover raised slowly, and softly. I grabbed my Wave Race disc (yep it goes first baby) and it clicked into place. I closed the cover.

Then it was finally time to power up for the first time. I took a deep breath...and pressed the button. The rolling GC logo appeared, and I pretty much began flipping out. More so inside I think cause there were lots of other people around. But, it was a monumental experience.

You are brought to a screen where you see a cube that can be rotated. This is where you can mess with Memory card stats, change internal clock, sound...and some other things I couldn't quite figure out. I was like, ok, lets get some Wave Race going.

Game impressions will come later. Other small things to note...

Load times - Nothing, or damn close to nothing.

System sound - Quiet. I couldn't hear anything.

Memory saves - FAST. Very fast. 1-2 seconds tops. Woohoo!

One thing to note on ejecting the disc. You press open, and then you press down on the circle thing holding the disc and it pops free. Yanking the disc out isn't recommended.

I think that's about it. So far, I'm more than satisfied with the new hardware. It's so small but yet packed with power -- SUPER DUPER POWER! Oh, c'mon...I had to say it.